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Predatory Caddisfly Larvae Sequester Tetrodotoxin from Their Prey, Eggs of the Rough-Skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa)

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Abstract

Caddisfly larvae (Limnophilus spp.) are important predators of eggs of the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa). Newts may possess extremely large quantities of the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) in their skin, and females may provision this toxin in their eggs. Using a competitive inhibition enzymatic immunoassay, we examined TTX-resistant caddisflies, sympatric with the known most toxic population of newts, for the presence of TTX. We found that caddisflies sequester TTX after consuming eggs in the laboratory. Caddisfly larvae that were frozen immediately after collecting in the wild possessed TTX. Finally, wild-caught larvae reared on a TTX-free diet in the laboratory retained TTX for up to 134 days, through metamorphosis and into the adult stage.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Joe Beatty for helping gain access to our research site, and Oregon State University for permitting us to use their facilities. This research was supported by the Utah State University Department of Biology and conducted in accordance with Utah State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocol (#1008R). Newts were collected under Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife permit #004-11.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Hanover College, P.O. Box 108, Hanover, IN, 47243, USA

    Brian G. Gall

  2. Department of Biology, Utah State University, 5305 Old Main HL, Logan, UT, 84322, USA

    Amber N. Stokes, Susannah S. French & Edmund D. Brodie Jr.

  3. Mountain Lake Biological Station and Department of Biology, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400328, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA

    Edmund D. Brodie III

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  1. Brian G. Gall
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  2. Amber N. Stokes
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  4. Edmund D. Brodie III
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  5. Edmund D. Brodie Jr.
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Correspondence to Brian G. Gall.

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Gall, B.G., Stokes, A.N., French, S.S. et al. Predatory Caddisfly Larvae Sequester Tetrodotoxin from Their Prey, Eggs of the Rough-Skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa). J Chem Ecol 38, 1351–1357 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-012-0213-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-012-0213-8

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